My morning paper noted that animator Kunio Kato thanked his pencil in his acceptance speech for the 2009 Oscar for animated short.
He also quoted a memorable line from a 1983 Styx song.
Staedtler’s oldest brands – the Atlas and Minerva pencils
Staedtler is one of the world’s foremost pencil manufacturers. While many companies struggle to maintain a single mainstream pencil line, Staedtler has four global brands – Mars Lumograph, Tradition, Noris, and Minerva. They of course also have a number of specialty and local lines.
Note: The photos were taken on green Clairefontaine graph paper, and received no editing other than cropping. We won’t do it again.
A previously mentioned interview with a Staedtler executive reveals that though the Mars line, dating from 1900, may be preeminent, the Atlas and Minerva brands are even older (though just by four years), originating in 1896. Amazingly, both brands survive 113 years later!
The pencils have similarities. Both are uncapped and have red (though not the same shade) finishes. The shape is a major differentiator. The Minerva is hexagonal, which the Atlas is a relatively unusual round pencil.
The Atlas has gold lettering, while the Minerva uses white.
The Atlas is made in Malaysia, with the lead core produced in Germany. The Minerva has no statement of origin.
The Minerva has an unusual aspect for a budget line – availability in three grades.
Both are budget pencils and write a bit on the scratchy side. I like the Atlas a bit more due to the richer red finish, absence of bar code, and round shape (unusual for a branded pencil).
Thanks to Gunther at Lexikaliker for arranging the purchase of the Minerva pencils.
Mitsubishi train pencils (2)
Another magnificent set of pencils in tribute to the Japanese railway system. This is a set of 18 colour pencils, housed in a tin case, and made by the esteemed Mitsubishi Pencil Co.
The inside of the lid reveals some details:
We also see the familiar mark of the Mitsubishi Pencil Company:
The pencil set is stunning, and includes an eraser and sharpener:
The pencils have a distinctive style, and extensive attention to detail:
Interesting as pencils, they are also amazing reflections of other realms.
Ito-ya pencil holder
Over the past years, we’ve seen some traditional pencil holders, and some newer versions.
There are still some problems with these implements. The traditional models have awkward grips, mainly due to the metal hardware, and interfere with comfortably holding a pencil.
The newer solutions are nice, but often impractically expensive – buying several boxes of new pencils would be cheaper than buying a Uni holder, for example.
Last month, I was happy to discover the Ito-ya pencil holder. I’ve read some negative comments about it here – yet – for the price, and after a month of use, I find it to be nearly perfect.
It seems to offer, for a reasonable price, a practical way to comfortably grip worn down pencils. In fact, it is so well done that it essentially relegates a near-century of pencil holders to the antique bin.
It is a subtle design. There are two pieces. An inner lightweight metal piece is the clutch and clamp, and holds the pencil. An outer piece – with metal inner parts and rubber exterior surface – screws on to the inner piece. The cap (part of the inner piece) acts as the grip for locking/unlocking action.
The outer portion has a rubberized surface, and is comfortable to hold. It also has a modern appealing designed look.
In the photos, a worn down 2B California Republic Palomino that I didn’t want to discard is shown. This arrangement has worked out really well. Truly, some might prefer this wider grip to that of the original pencil.
For $4 or so, I think it is amazing. It makes worn down pencils usable. In contrast to most predecessor holders, the pencil is very comfortable to hold, possibly more comfortable than the original format. It is easy to use. It looks great – and is available in four colours. And ultimately, for anyone who owns pencils that merit ongoing use, the price makes one (or several) a good investment.
Highly recommended.
Paper wrapped pencils
Does anyone remember these? Or still use them?
Known as grease markers or china markers, these pencils have wax colour cores, and are wrapped in paper that one tears off link by link. I remember these always being around the house when I was growing up, yet can’t recall what they were used for.
Still manufactured, I’ve seen them used for traditional purposes such as marking glass and ceramics, but also for more modern tasks such as marking laminated calendars and restaurant seating plans.
These particular ones date from perhaps the 1980s, and are branded Blaisdell. The box says they were made by Eagle/North-Rite, a division of Berol of Canada. All these long gone names!
This article from Stanford credits Blaisdell with inventing this format of grease pencil.
Also shown is a cousin, the Klenzo Ink & Type eraser.
To reveal more lead, one pulls the string, breaking the top layer of the coloured paper. Then, the paper is uncoiled. A simple solution that works well! I think it would be very interesting if the paper had fortunes or small quotations printed on the coils, but that might be a bit distracting.
They come in bright colours, no subtle forest shades here!
Pencils at Paperworld
The Paperworld trade show in Frankfurt am Main is a major international trade show and the venue for a multitude of product announcements from stationery manufacturers.
To my surprise and delight, the pencil industry is in focus this year thanks to some attending pencil bloggers.
First and foremost, a post from Lexikaliker has highlighted a really interesting new sharpener from Westcott. As well, the famed El Casco sharpener, and an entire new pencil category – an extruded woodcase pencil from Staedtler, the “WOPEX”. It seems the pencil layers – lead core, wood casing, paint varnish – are all extruded in a finished format. Quite amazing.
A second report shows the LYRA Colorstripe and Faber-Castell horsehair pen. This pen has already been discussed online. But a comment at Lexikaliker was the funniest – the 5000 Euro price should surely include the horse!
Stationery from our friends at Bundoki – has had eight posts on Paperworld.
Amusing giant pillar-sized pens, new finishes from Kaweco, and even more children’s specialty writing implements are among the items they mentioned.
Finally, Woodchuck at pencils.com seems to like the Lyra Groove and Colorstripe. We’ll apparently see more tomorrow. (Lexikaliker readers saw the Groove two months ago.)
[Update, February 4, 2009] A third post at Lexikaliker showcases some new Staedtler products.
[Update, February 6, 2009]< The Timberlines report on the show has appeared.